


Better than pills

by writinggeek73



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017), Riverdale (TV 2017) RPF
Genre: Angst, Anorexia, Anxiety, Asexual Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper Needs a Hug, Child Abuse, Chuck Clayton Being an Asshole, Dark Betty Cooper, Depression, Endgame Betty Cooper/Veronica Lodge, Gay Panic, Gen, Good Hiram Lodge, Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, Lesbian Betty Cooper, Lesbian Veronica Lodge, Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Minor Character Death, No I'm not kidding angst, Panic Attacks, Sad Betty Cooper, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Social Anxiety, Soft Cheryl Blossom, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, betty cooper has PTSD, instead of the core four its the core eight
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:35:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23163358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writinggeek73/pseuds/writinggeek73
Summary: Betty's been struggling since she can remember, but what will happen when she reaches her breaking point? Focuses mainly on Betty and Veronica, but will definitely include the other 6 main characters. Beronica, Josie/Archie, Choni. Enjoy my version of what should've been Riverdale. Deals with heavy mental health issues, and suicidal thoughts and actions. Starts at 101.
Relationships: Alice Cooper/Hal Cooper, Archie Andrews/Josie McCoy, Betty Cooper/Veronica Lodge, Cheryl Blossom/Toni Topaz, Chic/Original Charles Smith (Riverdale), Cliff Blossom/Penelope Blossom, Edgar Evernever/Evelyn Evernever, Fred Andrews/Mary Andrews, Hermione Lodge/Hiram Lodge, Tom Keller/Sierra McCoy
Comments: 18
Kudos: 106





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is an idea that I've been sitting on for a while now. I love Beronica and I also love writing them. Then I was thinking about all the times Betty goes through something (every character, for that matter), it is always severely underplayed. Like, her mom almost drowns and it is almost never mentioned again. Any regular character would have lasting effects from that. Anyway, there was also the idea that in Riverdale, each character, or most of them, constantly have their own, seperate storylines and wars that they are fighting, so it's hard to change that whole dynamic, especially when changing the two main ships. Hence, so that I can at least sort of stick to canon, Betty and Jughead will be really close, but like best friends, as will Archie and Veronica. Archie will be dating Josie, since I awlays loved those two together. Jughead, like in the comics, will be asexual. Betty is bisexual and Veronica is lesbian. And, like canon, Cheryl and Toni will be together. There will also be more focus on LGBTQT+ struggles( mostly with Cheryl and Betty, since both of their parents don't accept them) and mental health issues. Basically, just way more character develpoment, making for a longer story, which I'm not afraid of. There are, of course, some scenes that I want to write, that causes me to have to rewrite a huge part of the canon storyline, which, I admit, is a bit daunting. I'm used to writing fics about shows that have MUCH more intertwined characters, like they're all dealing with the same issue, and hence all in the same place. But then you have Riverdale, which have finales where everyone is in a different place, all dealing with their own issues and problems. So, I'm kind of diving in here headfirst, so if there is any help anyone could give, about rewriting finales or pivotal scenes, I could use it. Anyway, if you could excuse my rambling, please enjoy Chapter 1 :).

“Are you excited? Nervous?” Kevin asked, intrigued that Betty was finally going for the guy that she had been pining for ever since she learned how to speak.

Betty had to think carefully before answering. 

She definitely was nervous. She was always nervous. Checking herself in the mirror, looking for any imperfections. Weighing herself and feeling an overpowering sense of panic when the tiny black numbers on the scale went up.

Nervous when she was in school, panicking that someone would hear her when she vomited up her lunch, or when she had to lean against a wall for two seconds too long because she was so dizzy.

Panicked when her mom told her that she was looking ‘fleshy’. Those were the worst days. When someone pointed that out. She usually didn’t end up eating for the entire rest of the day, if not the next. She would spend the entire day exercising, or researching different foods that had no calories or fat.

She was especially nervous when someone told her that they were worried about her. When they said that she looked too skinny, or that they hadn’t seen her eat in weeks. If they got skeptical about the fact that Betty usually always said that she ‘ate a huge lunch’ or ‘just wasn’t hungry’, when asked to eat.

In those times of dread and panic, she would accept a meal from Pop’s, eating almost as she used to, but then go to the bathroom and puke it all up, crying in spite of herself.  
It was true that she’d limited the amount of social interaction that she had in the past couple of months. Ever since high school started, really. 

Since the day that she graduated grade 8, her mother had been pounding dozens upon dozens of expectations and limitations that she had put in place. About her weight, her personality, her studies, her extracurriculars, her social life and even tiny things like her sleep schedule and the amount of exercise that she got in a day.

Betty guessed, that that was where things all went downhill. She had always struggled with self-harm, but not to the point that she did now. It was the same with her anxiety and depression. She had always had troubles with living up to her mothers’ impossible expectations, but it seemed the struggle had gotten ten times worse once she hit high school.  
Metaphorically, her back had broken under all of the struggle; she just couldn’t handle it all. So, she started going out less, and just seeing her friends at school. She focused on her studies, because that’s what her mom wanted her to do.

She took the exercise and diet plans very seriously, over-exercising and under-eating. As she got skinnier and skinnier, so did her self-worth. She hated herself more and more by the day, wishing sometimes that she could just be taken out of this horrible life. 

She would get angry. Angry at the things that she couldn’t control, like if something pissed her mom off at work. Because, her mom would come home and slap her, punch her and verbally abuse her. Betty took those slashing words to heart, because what else could she do? Betty was already putting herself down; her mom was just feeding on that.

Then there was Polly. Her and Jason were like the perfect couple in Betty’s eyes. River Vixen and Bulldog, they were practically royalty at school. Her mom did not approve of it, though. 

One day, Betty came home from Archie’s house and Polly was gone. Gone were all traces of her older sister, like she never even existed in the first place.  
Betty tried to ask her parents what happened, but they would never give her a straight answer. 

The ‘truth’ that she’d managed to concoct from all of the little snippets of information that she practically ripped out of her parents was this; Polly had been in an unstable relationship with Jason. Her parents came home one day to a hysterical Polly, crying on and on about how she hated her relationship with him. 

Her parents said that they were trying to calm her down, but she wouldn’t. She apparently threw things at them, exhibiting signs of mental instability, so they sent her away. Though, Betty didn’t see anything broken or missing when she got home that night. To this day, she still didn’t know where her sister was.

That was the last straw. Polly was always there for her on her worst days, to cheer her up. Now she was gone, and Betty was completely and utterly alone. Well, except for Archie Andrews, of course. 

Archie had basically been Betty’s best friend/crush ever since she could remember. Sure, Archie never exhibited any signs that he liked Betty back, but that was fine. Betty was still absolutely positive that he was as head-over-heels for her as she was for him.

“Both. I haven’t seen him all summer,” Betty replied, turning around from her vanity.

That much was true. She hadn’t seen him in person, sure, but she had definitely seen his picture every night before she went to bed. He had been at his dad’s construction site, helping him all summer, while Betty had been helping her parents, unwillingly, at The Register’s offices, everyday.

“Which is why nerves are acceptable. But we agreed, B. It’s time.” Kevin said, reminding her of the long talk that they had had the night previous. 

Nerves were higher than usual, that was for sure. That was also saying something, considering. 

She turned back around, looking in her vanity mirror for any signs of imperfection.

She hated how her jaw stuck out from her face like a sore thumb. She would wear her hair down if she could, but her mom would never let her out of the house.  
Her face looked sunken in, and there were permanent dark purple bags underneath her eyes, from her tremendous lack of sleep. 

But, Betty thought, that, is one of the glorious things that can be fixed by makeup.

She had gone from only wearing mascara and a little bit of lip gloss, to applying heavy amounts of concealer and foundation, not to mention blush, because lately there had been absolutely no colour in her face whatsoever.

She stared at her body, now half-naked, with a look of utter disgust. She was skinny, yes, but she still hated the sight of her sunken-in torso. Her boobs were way too big for her liking and her thigs were still too big, even though she had managed to go four sizes down in her jeans.

“You like him, he likes you,” Kevin encouraged, as she quickly replaced the look of disgust with one of happiness, a trait that she had gotten particularly good at.  
“Well then why, Kevin, hasn’t he ever said, or done anything?” Betty said, voicing her ever-present concerns out loud.

“Because, Archie’s swell. Like most millennial straight guys, he needs to be told what he wants. So, tell him, finally.” He replied, exasperated.

“Well, we’ll see, it depends- “Betty said, getting interrupted from looking for her blush brush.

“Oh, my god.” Kevin said, sounding amazed, as he rolled off of Betty’s bed and stared, intrigued, out the window.  
“What? “she said, starting to panic.

Did Archie get with another girl?

Am I gonna get blown off?

Did he meet someone this summer?

Am I no good for him anymore?

It’s because I’m ugly, that’s why he doesn’t like me.

A thousand and one bad thoughts running through her mind, she quickly got up from her vanity chair, feeling a fresh wave of panicking dizziness wash over her, as she stumbled over to where Kevin was gawking out the window.

Holding the wall for support, she took a few shallow breaths as she finally saw what Kevin was talking about.

“Gamechanger. Archie got hot! He’s got abs now! That’s six more reasons foe you to take that ginger bull by the horns, tonight,” Kevin said, clearly very enthused. 

Betty couldn’t help gawk a bit herself. Then, she realized that she was staring out her window, at Archie, in only her bra and underwear. He could look out his window at any second and see her there.

“I know, I know,” Betty said, pushing Kevin away from the curtains as she hastily closed them.

“But he can see us!” She said, panic slightly evident in her voice.

“Yeah, yeah.” Kevin said, unmoved.

Betty was glad that Kevin had been to distracted to notice the slight panicked edge to her voice, and the fact that her fingernails had just broken her palm skin, once again.

“Anyway, wish me luck, but you better go. Besides, I’ll be leaving in like five minutes.” Betty told Kevin, who reluctantly agreed to go, but not before making sure that Betty picked a nice top and jeans.

After Kevin left, Betty almost had a full-on panic attack. The only thing that stopped her was a couple cuts on her legs. They took away some of the panic, temporarily. 

All she wanted was for this night to go smoothly. It was the least she deserved after everything that she’d dealt with over the past year.

Reaching over to her night table, Betty grabbed the yellow and white pill bottle, took one of the little blue pills out and swallowed it. She wanted to take more than one, but she had already exceeded her prescribed dose of them for the day.

She studied herself in the mirror one last time, supressing a sob at how terrible she thought she looked, grabbed her purse and left, not being able to stand the sight of herself any longer.

As she trotted down the stairs, feeling impressed at herself at how light she felt, her mom called to her.

“Elizabeth, make sure you are home by curfew, tonight.” Alice said, using her ‘scolding mother’ voice.

“I know, mom. Just because I haven’t been out in like, two weeks, doesn’t mean I forgot about curfew.” 

“Okay, but just remember, it’s the first day of school tomorrow, so it’s even more important.” 

At that, Betty rolled her eyes and left. 

She walked down the freshly-cemented sidewalk, smelling the cool, crisp night air. Heading in the direction of Pop’s, Betty was feeling a little nauseous.  
Better than embarrassed, she thought, clutching her stomach.

All Betty hoped was that Archie would be there, feeling the same way about her that she was feeling about him.

Holy-, she thought, doubling over and throwing up into some bushes. The nausea today, had been worse than the last two weeks combined. Seeing as this was the fourth time that she’d thrown up today, all she wanted to do was go to bed.

She unzipped her purse, taking out one of three yellow pill bottles and popping the cap off. She kept on walking, not wanting to look suspicious, and downed two of them. They were supposed to help with nausea, but not this kind of nausea. 

Hers was self-inflicted. The kind that she could stop if she wanted to, but she didn’t. She didn’t know how. 

She sucked in another deep breath and walked all the way to Pop’s, ignoring the dizziness that she felt. 

This was what a regular day felt like for her. Hiding her symptoms, puking, piling clothes on herself to hide her ugly body, caking on makeup to hide the fact that she rarely ever slept. Cutting, crying and having panic attacks five or six times a day.

If she was being honest with herself, being with Archie was the only thing keeping her head above water when every day, she was being pulled underneath the current.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is kind of bland, but it introduces some of the romance things, and feelings that people have for each other. Which, is what I intended it to do. Through this, I will try to be sticking to canon, but also putting a bunch of my own little twists on it, making it differentiate from canon. And obviously there are some things that I will be doing that aren’t canon at all, but it’s because I want to ass emotional depth to the characters, as much as possible. Also, I’m a big fan of using the same dialogue that they have in the show, so I will also try to sneak in those little nuggets. Also, I hope everyone is doing okay, self-quarantining if possible, and keeping up hope. I know it can be hard to social distance, but just remember; it’s for everyone’s health and well being. Anyway, I introduce to you, chapter 2!

Chapter 2

Eventually, she got to Pop’s. It was a nauseating and dizzying walk, but she made it. 

  
She was a mixture of panic, anxiety, and hope, as she walked up the stone steps and pushed through the glass door.

  
The iconic doorbell greeted her, as, instinctively, her eyes lead themselves over to the booth that they always sat at. Or, used to sit at. 

  
And there he was. Six feet of tall, handsome Archie. 

  
_Wow, Kevin wasn't lying_ , Betty thought as she glimpsed his arms, which were about twice the size of when she saw them last, admiring all of the work that he must’ve had to do to get them.

  
Self-consciously, she diverted her gaze away from his amazing arms, and stared at his face.

  
His chiseled, groomed face. She could tell that he had shaved very recently; there were little patches of stubble butting through his otherwise smooth face.

  
For a second, Betty thought about what it would be like to kiss those lips, to lay her head against those stubbly cheeks. It was one of the only happy things that she had these days, so when Archie noticed her and waved her over, she was disappointed to have to return to reality. 

  
But, since she would be dealing with real-life Archie, Betty could bare it for a little while yet.

  
Not much happened after that. Most of it was just Archie and Betty exchanging stories and conversations that they had had over the summer, and, of course, Betty silently mooning over Archie.

  
Archie had also told her about his sudden desire to write song lyrics. 

  
Apparently, he was bored the major part of his summer, so he started composing poems, and then making up music to go along with them, playing his guitar.

  
He was pretty self-conscious about it, because the only person he told was Betty, and he said to keep it a secret.

  
Betty didn’t mind, though. It just made her feel closer to him, sharing a secret that no one else knew about.

  
After they had discussed the better part of their summer, and downed two milkshakes each, Betty decided it was time.

  
There were a million voices in her head, telling her not to do it, to back out, to go home.

_He'll reject you, for sure._

_He doesn't love you, he never will. Why do you think he's never said anything?_

_Just go home now, before you make a fool out of yourself._

  
For once, Betty ignored all of those pesky voices. Taking a sip of her vanilla milkshake, she clenched her right fist, feeling the all-too-familiar sting of fingernails on skin, and mentally scolded herself.

_You're gonna get fat._

_Your mom will hate you, everyone will._

_How are you supposed to stay skinny if you can't refrain from one measly milkshake?_

  
Betty didn’t want to eat or drink anything, almost ever. She was too nauseous from hunger and fatigue.

  
But she had decided that she had to, to act normal. That was what the regular Betty would’ve done. Hell, she would’ve downed double the amount she already had, but that was too much. 

  
Besides, she would puke everything up afterward. It wasn’t like that abnormal for her.

  
Taking a deep breath, and pushing out all of the voices telling her to leave, Betty began.

  
“So, Archie.” She said, changing her tone to a more serious one, which affectively got his attention.

  
“I’ve been thinking, about us and our friendship- “Betty stopped, realizing that the attention had been snatched, by something over her head.

  
Archie had stars in his eyes, rightfully so, as his eyes were glued to a lithe figure, walking into Pop’s.

  
She had shoulder-length black hair, immaculate facial features, and warm, deep chocolate-brown eyes, which made Betty dizzy if she stared at them for too long.

  
She stood tall, not like she was somehow superior to everyone, but like she was confident, in herself and her actions. She wore a black cloak, of which she removed the hood of, when she sauntered around the bend. 

  
As Betty turned around, her mind went completely blank, focusing only on the beautiful goddess in front of her.

  
She was definitely the most gorgeous person Betty had ever seen. She waltzed around to her and Archie’s table, and Betty could’ve sworn that she threw her a seductive glance as she came up.

  
Betty was completely and utterly star struck. 

  
She felt the familiar feeling of butterflies in her stomach, coincidentally the same feeling that she got when she thought of Archie.

_No._

  
Betty stopped. She zoned back in, realizing what she was thinking. 

  
She _liked_ this girl. And not just in the friendship way. She _like liked_ her.

  
She pushed down all of those feelings. 

  
Betty had gotten them before, when she was scrolling through Instagram and she saw a pretty picture of a girl. Or, even sometimes when she thought of her old friend, Alyssa.

  
They had been practically best friends in middle school, until she moved away for high school. Betty had known for a long time that she had had a crush on Alyssa, but she suppressed all of those feelings.

  
Which, was exactly what she needed to do now.

  
Her mom would never approve of those feelings. 

  
All her life, her mom had been drilling into her that it was unnatural for girls to be attracted to girls, same with boys.

  
This always led to awkward situations when Kevin was around, with him being gay. Betty fully accepted him, even admired him a little bit, for being able to come out to his parents.

  
That just made Betty hate her mom even more. 

  
It was fine if she had to supress her true feelings, but her mom being homophobic in front of Kevin, openly? Betty loathed.

  
Shaking her head in annoyance, Betty sighed. The mystery girl probably didn’t even like girls. She might even think that Betty was a freak for suggesting it in the first place.

  
Digging her nails in her free hand, Betty brought herself back to the present, not letting the tears glistening in her eyes get out.

  
Her mom would never accept her, neither would her dad. Hell, even Polly wouldn’t. 

  
She would just have to stay closeted, because her family’s definition of perfect, didn’t include homosexuality.

  
Just the thought that she had to hide from Polly of all people, panicked her.

_Where even is Polly?_

_Is she okay?_

_There must've been something I could've done to protect her from our parents._

  
As the scolding thoughts went through her head, the cloaked beauty came up next to her booth.

“We have an order, for Lodge.” She said, confirming her order with Pop.

  
“Yep, it’ll be another couple minutes,” Pop replied.

  
The Lodge girl acknowledged him with a curt nod, as she turned over to Archie and Betty’s booth.

  
When she spoke, it was like silk gliding through the air.

  
Elegant, kind, flowing. 

  
Betty suppressed those feelings once more, as she turned her gaze to her milkshake, which she wanted to do anything but drink.

  
“Are the onion rings any good?” She asked, directing the question at Archie.

  
“Uh, yeah. They’re terrific,” Archie said, equally as star struck as Betty, but much more obvious.

  
This hurt Betty. They were supposed to be there together, not talking to another girl. This was the night that Betty was supposed to tell Archie how she felt. After all, Kevin would kill her if she didn’t.

  
“Oh, great.” She said, throwing her head over her shoulder.

  
“Can we get some onion rings, too?” She shouted to Pop.

  
He nodded his head, as she turned back to the booth.

  
“So, are you guys from Riverdale?” She asked.

  
“Yeah, we’re from here, together.” Betty said, accentuating on the ‘together’.

  
“Where are you from?” Archie asked, completely ignoring what Betty had just said.

  
“New York. Me and my mom just moved here.” She said, nodding her head.

  
Archie nodded his too, as if he was deeply intrigued.

  
“What school are you going to go to?” He asked again.

  
“Riverdale High. It’s the school that my mom went to, so,” She said, switching her gaze over to Betty.

  
“What are your guys’ names? I’m Veronica Lodge,” She said, extending her hand out to Betty to shake.

  
“Betty Cooper, and that’s Archie Andrews. We go to Riverdale High, too.” Betty said, as they both shook Veronica’s hand.

  
As Veronica shook Betty’s hand, she was impressed. The handshake was gentle, but firm. Not what she would have expected.

  
But her fingers and wrist were very thin. She also felt uneven skin on Betty’s palms.

  
Her mind automatically jumped to conclusions.

_Does she have problems?_

_She looks way too thin for her age._

  
Her mind shot back to one of her best friends, Katy Keene.

  
When they had met, Katy was in a dark place. Veronica had helped her get out of that negative cycle, and into a positive one. 

  
She had also learned a lot about mental illnesses, and how to identify the symptoms.

  
There were only a few present in Betty; extreme thinness, shaky hands and the gaunt look her face had, despite the obvious layers of makeup she had put on to mask it.

  
She would see. She would watch and learn, and get Betty help if she needed some.

  
However, there was something else about that name, something that was familiar.

  
“Betty Cooper. Are you,” She started, hoping that the blonde would catch on.

  
“Supposed to give you your tour tomorrow?”

  
Veronica gave a nod of understanding, her smile widening.

  
“Yep. That’s me.” Betty said.

  
Veronica gazed into the emerald depths, wondering what thoughts were being thought behind those pretty eyes.

  
Veronica couldn’t help herself, as she let her gaze travel down Betty’s seemingly perfect face.

  
Her cheekbones were made for framing her face, making it look more beautiful than it already was. Her eyes went to Betty’s lips, which were plump and shimmery. 

  
At a closer look, Betty’s face looked a little sunken in. More than it should’ve been.

  
But still beautiful as ever.

  
Veronica was used to these feelings. She knew that she had caught them for this blonde girl.

  
She had come out to her parents years ago. Thankfully, they fully supported her. Except for when she would bring home a different girl almost every night.

  
When they were driving here, her mom had made her promise that none of that would happen in Riverdale.

  
Veronica had obliged, wanting to be better.

  
She was curious as to if Betty had caught feelings for her, and seeing as how she was avoiding her gaze, fear in her eyes, she was positive that the feeling was mutual.

  
However, Veronica was determined to clean up her image, from New York. 

  
Trying to impress Betty, Veronica said,” I’m filled with dread. Are you familiar with the works of Truman Kapodie? I’m Breakfast at Tiffany’s, but this place is strictly In Cold Blood.” 

  
Betty gave a nod and a little giggle, as Archie gave a much louder laugh, despite Veronica inferring that he had no idea what she had just said.

  
 _Oh yeah_ , Veronica thought, _Betty's so into me_.

  
As if on cue, Betty threw Archie a confused stare, almost as if she thought that he was flirting with Veronica, and it should’ve been her.

  
“Ah, well, do you want to join us? Maybe we can un-fill you with dread?” Archie asked, to Betty’s distaste.

  
Veronica wanted so badly to accept the offer, to get to know the beauty that is Betty Cooper. 

_But, if I wait until tomorrow, we can have alone time, considering she's my peer mentor._

  
Veronica liked the thought of that.

  
And, considering the fact that it was Archie who asked her to stay, and all of the overly enthusiastic looks he’d been throwing her, he was definitely crushing.

  
She’d just find a way to let him down easy. 

  
Betty, on the other hand, was fiercely annoyed at the fact that Archie would even ask such a question.

  
Tonight, was supposed to be just them, and now because a prettier girl walks in, he loses focus?

  
 _Ugg, men_. 

  
Also, because she couldn’t look Veronica in the eye without smiling like a kid at a candy store. Which was why she had opted to acting annoyed every time she spoke, to throw the scent.

  
“Actually, my mom’s waiting for me, so,” Veronica said, gently.

“Oh, ok. We’ll just see you tomorrow, then.” Archie replied, very excited to do just that.

  
Veronica nodded, turning on her heel and walking away. But not before she could sneak in a wink at Betty.  
Betty’s face instantly lit up, shivering at the thought of spending more time with her.

_No, Betty. That's wrong._

_It's unnatural._

_You're letting the demons inside your head._

_What would your mother say about that, huh?_

_That's not perfect._

  
She suppressed her feelings once again, as she forcefully turned her head back around, smiling at Archie.

  
Betty didn’t know if she could bare the thought of spending more time with Veronica. She didn’t know how much longer she could suppress her feelings.

  
“So, what were you saying?” Archie asked, clearly dumfounded.

  
“Oh, nothing.”

  
Betty was disappointed.

  
The fact that as soon as a girl walked in, that was clearly more attractive than she, Archie just completely forgot about her. 

  
Sighing, she dug her nails in until she could feel the skin break. It felt good. It was easier to act like everything was normal when she had an anger management source.

  
Meanwhile, as Veronica was in her chauffeur car, driving home, all she could think about was Betty.

  
She was star struck.

  
Veronica did have a gaydar, that was right 99.9% of the time. And right now, it was telling her that Betty mirrored those same feelings for her, but didn’t want to.

  
She was still closeted, and was afraid of breaking through. Veronica would help, though. 

  
Smiling, she started a countdown, of how many hours she’d have to wait to see Betty, again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This is chapter 3! I will be updating more frequently because of social isolation, although, if I’m being honest, I would still rather write fanfic than socialize most of the time. Also, I know that we’re only at the start of canon S1, but if anyone had any ideas about how the Hiram/Archie storyline wants to go, feel free to spill. Since Veronica and Archie aren’t dating, I’m leaving all of the romantic drama for Josie to tackle, as his eventual girlfriend. However, I would usually exclude the Hiram/Archie storyline completely, or make Betty take his place, but there’s a few reasons why I can’t do that. One being that Betty has a lot on her plate every season, because she’s usually the one in deep with the season’s big problem/villain, so I can’t really squeeze all the issues with Hiram in there. Two being that if I just excluded that plot point all together, it would make Archie not really have a storyline to him. And it would take away from the depth of Veronica’s family. So yeah. If you could excuse my rambling, onto Chapter 3.

Chapter 3

  
After that whole ordeal, the three kids, who had all fallen in love, went home with separate thoughts in their heads.

  
Archie wanted nothing more than to have Veronica as his own.

  
She was beautiful, witty, smart and resourceful, according to the necklace of shiny pearls she wore around her neck.

  
He knew that he would have to work for it, but he was certainly willing to do so.

  
Veronica came home, dazed, lust filling her chocolate eyes.

  
“Did you pick up the food from Pop’s?” Hermione asked, getting up from a lounge chair.

  
Veronica just sighed and set the fast food bag down on the table.

  
“Oh, and also, I’ve decided that we’re moving to Kayo Coco and adopting twin ferrets,” Hermione joked, noticing the dazed demeanor of her daughter.

  
Veronica just mumbled an ‘okay’ and walked into her room to set her things down.

Hermione followed her, an amused expression on her face, as she saw Veronica flop onto her bed.

  
“So, what’s this about?” Hermione asked, holding back a chuckle. Her daughter had clearly just fallen for someone. The question was, who was the lucky specimen?

  
When she didn’t answer, Hermione walked over to the bed and took Veronica’s hands in hers, shaking them.

  
“Ronnie! Earth to Ronnie! As your mother, I have a right to know why you look like you’re in euphoria.”

  
Veronica opened her eyes, smiling at her mother. All she could think about were those _amazing_ clear green eyes. When the light hit them, they shimmered like emeralds, making Veronica’s heart flutter.

  
Her head lolled to the side, as she confessed,” Mom, I think I’m in love.”

  
Hermione chuckled at that. 

  
“Clearly, honey. Who’s the lucky girl? Or guy?” Hermione said, rubbing her daughter’s shoulder.

  
“Betty Cooper. She’s amazing. When I look into her eyes, I get butterflies. I just- I feel like I’d do anything for her, if I could, and we’ve only had half a conversation.” Veronica said, gazing up at the ceiling.

  
“Betty Cooper? As in, Alice Cooper’s daughter?” Hermione asked, slightly worried.

  
She and Alice had had issues, back in high school. Alice hated Hermione, even though she did nothing wrong. She was concerned that the history of them would affect their daughters, who deserved none of it.

  
“Yeah, probably. Why?” Veronica answered, snapping out of her trance due to the worried edge of her mother’s voice.

  
“Well, in high school, me and Alice weren’t the best of friends. She hated me, for no reason, nonetheless. She was controlling, spiteful and filled with hate. She wanted, craved the need to be perfect all the time. If you really like Betty-,”

  
“I do, mom. And I think she likes me back. She put up a shield, though. She knows she does, but she doesn’t want to.” Veronica said.

  
“Okay, I believe you, Ronnie, it’s just- wait, you said you think she doesn’t ‘want to like you’? And her mom’s Alice Cooper. That bitch.” Hermione said, slightly trembling with anger at all of the bad memories that came flooding back to her from high school.

  
“What, mom?” Veronica asked, confused and surprised at her mother’s sudden outburst.

  
“Back in high school, there was a kid, his name was Josh. He was openly gay, and everyone was fine with it, supporting even. That was, until Alice came around.  
“She started bullying him about being gay, in front of everyone. No one would do anything about it because we were all too afraid. It got worse as the months passed; he would skip school most days and when he did come, he hid in the crowd, afraid of her taunting. 

  
“One day, Alice was being sloppy, and a teacher walked in on her using one of her terrible taunts on him. The teacher sent her to the principal’s office and she got suspended. Honestly, she should’ve got expelled for what she made him do. Josh had ditched, going home because he couldn’t take it anymore. He OD’d that night.”

  
Hermione exhaled, then drew in a shaky breath, frightened for their daughters.

  
Veronica was appalled. Her mom had always been very protective over her, even going to court once against someone that assaulted her because of her sexuality. But she had always thought that it was simply because she was a supportive mother. Turns out there was another reason.

  
“Oh my god. And she wasn’t punished further? For causing someone to kill themselves?” 

  
Veronica’s voice was rising now. The fact that someone would ever do that to another human being made her want to vomit.

  
“No. Which is why I’m worried. Betty could be suppressing her feelings, and doing harmful things to herself to do so. Alice probably has it drilled into her head that homosexuality is unacceptable. That’s why it seemed like she was ignoring those feelings. If she drove one of her peers to death, imagine what impact she could make on her own daughter."

  
“Ronnie, did you notice anything? Anything that would alert you to her having any mental health problems? I know you’re pretty good at spotting those kinds of things, because of Katy.” Hermione asked.

  
“Well, I did notice a couple of things. She was skinny, too skinny considering how old she is, and when I shook her hand, her palm felt ragged, like there was some torn up skin there. She might be digging her fingernails in.” Veronica sighed, her voice growing slightly tighter from the anxiety that someone like her could be struggling like that.

  
Hermione nodded, her face contorting into a frown.

  
“Well, you’re obviously going to want to see her tomorrow, so make sure she’s okay, check for any other symptoms, like you did back in New York. Anything, really. But also, be a good friend, by not getting up in her business too much, unless, of course she wants you to.” Hermione said.

  
Veronica gave a grunt of understanding, as she acknowledged the fact that the mood had gone from dreamy to serious in a matter of seconds.

  
At that, an image of Betty flashed through her head, making her break out into a goofy smile.

  
Hermione looked over at her daughter, who was sporting the goofiest grin she had ever seen.

  
“Oh, Ronnie. You are hopelessly in love, aren’t you?” Hermione chided, a serious but understanding look on her face.

  
“Would it be wrong to say yes? I mean, I just met her and I’m already fantasizing spending the rest of my life with her. Even if it means being her emotional support person. I could seriously picture me doing anything for her,” Veronica admitted, lust entering her gaze once again.

  
Hermione chuckled.

  
“Ronnie, that’s good, amazing even. To find someone like that at such a young age, is truly wonderful. You just have to be cautious. Love like that can confuse us, make us do things that we would never do in our right state of mind.”

  
“I know, mom. I won’t do anything that could get me in law troubles, or jeopardize my health, or anything like that. Though, I don’t think I would even get a situation like that with her.” Veronica promised.

  
“Okay. As long as you know where the line is.” Hermione said.

  
“I do.” Veronica said, once again staring into space.

  
“Well, then. I say we dig into Pop’s burgers and fries, don’t you? I want to see the look on your face when you have your first bite.” Hermione said, nudging Veronica’s shoulder with her own.

  
“Okay, mom. But unless you can somehow erase the memory of Betty in my mind, you can’t guarantee my focus for the entire dinner.” Veronica said, as her mother led her out of her room and into the kitchen.

  
Smithers had already removed the food from its bags and set it out on plates. Accompanying the delicious burgers and fries, were two double chocolate milkshakes, that looked heavenly.

  
“How did you know I liked double chocolate? I’ve never had a milkshake before,” Veronica asked, puzzled but impressed.

  
“I knew, Ronnie, because double chocolate was my favourite when I was a teenager. Guess it just stayed with me, most preferences usually do

,” Hermione smiled, as they both sat down in their respective seats.

  
“Okay,” Veronica said, getting situated and picking up her burger.

  
“Let’s do this.” 

  
As she bit into her burger, a smile lit up her face, illuminating her already poised features. It was like a flavour explosion in her mouth. Sweet, salty, savoury, everything came together to form one amazing combination; umami.

  
She looked over at her mom, who was chewing her first bite of burger as well, as they locked gazes and smiled.

  
“Wow, mom. This is truly amazing. I can see why you were so eager.” Veronica said.

  
“I know, right? It’s like an explosion of flavours in your mouth.”

  
“Amazing,” Veronica whispered, as she devoured the rest of her burger, relishing every bite despite rushing to finish it.

  
She then moved on to her fries, eating them one by one, feeling the salt burn her tongue. 

  
“Oh, no, no no. You do not eat your fries plain.” Hermione protested.

  
“Wha-,” Veronica interjected, being cut off by her mom.

  
“Open up your milkshake, and dip your fries in it. That’s the only way to do it without acting like a psychopath.” Hermione said, mock seriousness dripping from her voice.

  
“Okay, okay. Geez.” Veronica said, laughing, as she did as she was told.

  
She was very glad she did. It was, alike the burger, one of the best flavour combinations that had ever entered her mouth.

  
“How did you not take me here before? This is amazing.” Veronica gushed, astonished.

  
Hermione gave a nod of understanding, as the mother-daughter duo finished their dinner, and snuggled up on the couch to watch ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’. 

  
Veronica ended the night being very content. 

  
She had indulged in one of the finest meals that she had ever had, and had movie night with her mom; a scenario of rare occurrence.

  
But, the highlight of her night, by far, was the moment she set eyes on Betty Cooper. 

  
Veronica had turned into a virtual pile of goo under her stare. And all night, she had been anticipating the morning, where they would meet again, much to Betty’s distaste.

  
You see, Betty had gone home, on the verge of tears.

  
She felt as if she were in a swamp full of molasses, and those molasses were her feelings for Veronica. They were so strong, so thick, that she couldn’t escape their grasp. 

  
She walked home, taking short, panicked breaths the whole way back.

  
Her nails had been permanently embedded in her palms the entire time, too. Betty pushed them harder, willing them to numb her pain.

  
The problem was, it had been becoming increasingly harder to feel anything in her palms. It got to the point where Betty would dig her nails in, instinctively, and not even feel it. So, she would dig harder, causing more blood flow and more pain. Her palms were more sensitive than ever, now. Absent-mindedly outlining shapes on them with her nails when she was bored, then realizing that she couldn’t feel it.

  
This was one of her many ever-growing worries.

  
Not only was it harder to get her relief, but it was also harder to hide, since there was more blood. 

  
A lot of the time, when she didn’t feel like going to the bathroom between every period, or carrying around a washcloth to clean up the blood, she would take a couple Xanax.  
It calmed her down, enough so, that her worries would be gone. That, however, did contribute towards her insomnia, dizziness and nausea.

  
Betty thought it was worth it.

  
She got home, closing the door quietly like she was always taught.

  
“Elizabeth Ann Cooper! You are seven minutes late to curfew! What do you have to say for yourself?” 

  
This is how Betty was greeted virtually everyday; by her extremely overbearing mother, yelling at her for something or other.

  
Seven minutes?

  
Betty hadn’t noticed the time, as she was too focused on getting rid of her feelings for Veronica. And, as it turns out, the two reasons for that were standing in this very room.   
Her parents would absolutely, positively never approve of them. They were ‘ungodly’ and ‘sinful’ according to Hal and Alice. They had those insults ingrained in Betty’s head so much, she actually believed that her feelings were wrong. That other people could feel them and be fine, but if she had them, she was a sinner.

  
“I’m sorry, mom. I lost track of time. Me and Archie were really busy talking about our summers,” Betty offered, only partially telling the truth.

  
Archie and Betty had finished up their awkward conversation soon after Veronica left. It was too weird, continuing that talk after a beautiful woman interrupted it.

  
Archie called his dad to come pick him up, offering Betty a ride as well. Betty, to Archie’s surprise, declined it, saying that she had an errand to run anyway.

  
Archie was so oblivious to the whole situation; it was almost laughable.

  
Almost.

  
“Are you sure you’ve been taking your Adderall? You seem more out of focus than usual.” 

  
Classic Alice Cooper.

  
Instead of asking her how the night went, she goes and questions everything Betty is doing, and then makes sure to include some insults that purposely hurt Betty.

  
However, tonight Betty didn’t even flinch at the blow to her self-esteem.

  
“I ran out a couple days ago, I keep meaning to ask you to get a re-fill.” 

  
Another lie.

  
Betty had been taking three a day, every day, to help with the insomnia she got from the Xanax, and everything in life. 

  
In reality, Betty had run out of those precious little pills two weeks ago. 

  
She had taken a late-night trip to the drug store and bought two packages of Racetams, another drug that helps her focus, but are are over-the-counter.

  
She had three of those left, which is why she needed the Adderall. 

  
“See what I mean? No focus.” Alice complained, scorn hissing from her voice.

  
That wasn’t entirely true.

  
Betty was still keeping up with the quality of Register articles that she’d been writing, and meticulously writing a dozen essays, for extra credit, per her mother’s orders.

  
She didn’t even need the extra marks, either.

  
So, no, it wasn’t lack of focus. It was the fact that she had too much focus, and would get hyper focused on one thing and forget about everything else, hence, Veronica.

  
But, instead of fighting, she backed down and dug her nails in.

  
“Yeah, I guess so. I’m sorry, mom. It won’t happen again.” 

  
“It better not. Now, go on, up to your room. You need your sleep.” Alice chided, shooing her up the stairs.

  
Betty accepted the invitation to leave gratefully, as she speed-walked over to the staircase.

  
She kept her pace, leaning against the railing for support.

  
When she reached the top, she was exhausted, even though she had only run up two flights of stairs.

  
She hobbled over to her bed, collapsing onto it, breathing hard.

  
She lay there for a few minutes, catching her breath, as a fresh wave of nausea washed over her.

  
It was no surprise, really. What she had eaten tonight was the equivalent of what she would usually eat in three days. Her stomach couldn’t take it.

  
As she ran over to her bathroom, frantically pushing up the toilet lid and retching into it, Betty felt a twinge of pride in herself.

  
She had trained herself so well, that her body wouldn’t allow that much food to be digested.

  
She vomited up the contents of her stomach, not bothering to be quiet. Betty had learned long ago that her parents didn’t care if she was puking, sobbing or screaming, as long as it was away from prying eyes.

  
She closed the lid, using the back of one of her hands to wipe away the puke from her lips.

  
Flushing, she weakly walked back over to her bed and shed her blouse and jeans. Changing into a pajama top and bottoms, she crawled into bed.

  
She gave a last glance over at her vanity, which had her blush brush laying openly on it, discarded. Even though it had only been left there a mere

two hours ago, so much had changed.

  
A silent tear running down her cheek, Betty turned off her lamp, rolling onto her back.

  
That silent tear quickly turned into choking sobs, as Betty succumbed to the panic, letting it torture her as it had done every night for a long time.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello! This chapter was going to be posted later today, but after some sudden news I found out about, I compelled myself to finish it. We now have to wait an extra week for the new episode, titled ‘Wicked Little Town’. Needless to say, I will definitely be doing more writing than usual, considering. Anyway, please enjoy Chapter 4.

“Hey, you stopping by the site later? We got to get you set up in the office.” 

  
Fred walked into the living room, busting out with a question that Archie dreaded answering.

  
“Uh,” Archie stuttered, trying to think of an acceptable excuse, despite it being on his mind the entire night.

  
“I have football tryouts. Can’t ditch that,” He settled on.

  
Archie had to admit, music was more exhilarating than any football game could ever be. That feeling when he finished composing a song, and he performed it with no flaws, was irreplaceable.

  
Though, it was true that he had football tryouts. That was something that was unquestionable, even if there was something that he was more interested in. A right of passage, per say.

  
Then there was the fact that Archie was itching to talk to Ms. Grundy about, well, everything.

  
Mainly what happened on July 4th, though.

  
He and Geraldine were enjoying an early-morning picnic, with a side of making out. It was amazing, really, exhilarating.

  
However, that perfect moment was shattered, when a gunshot rang out, along the shore of Sweetwater River. Neither of them got hurt, just a little jumpy for a few days, is all. 

  
They fled, terrified that someone was there and trying to hurt them, or find them out.

  
After hastily packing up their picnic essentials, they went their separate ways, with Archie going back to his dad’s construction company, acting as if all was normal.

  
The day went relatively normal after that, until Archie turned on the radio.

  
“This morning, at approximately 7:37am, Cheryl and Jason Blossom went on an early-morning boat ride. Somewhere along the way, their canoe capsized, leaving the twins fighting for their lives against the rocky current. Cheryl Blossom managed to get to shore, however Jason did not. The police are currently dragging Sweetwater River for his body, and there are several search parties in motion. We are urging anyone who knows any information about the incident to come forward.” 

  
The news reporter sounded dark and dreary, as this was an unusual crime for Riverdale.

  
 _Sweetwater River_. Archie thought. 

  
He and Ms. Grundy had been at the river around 7:30, and the gunshot was definitely around there. 

  
Archie’s first thought, of course, was to go straight to the police, with Ms. Grundy, telling them that they had heard a gunshot. It was odd, though. Jason capsized in a boat with his sister and then a gunshot sounded.

  
Maybe it was sabotaged, Archie thought, though it was highly unlikely. The Blossoms were one of the wealthiest families in Riverdale, not to mention the fact that they ran the maple syrup business. So then there was the question of why would someone try something like that, if they knew which family he belonged to?

  
He shook his head, dialing Ms. Grundy’s number.

  
“Archie, why are you calling? I thought we agreed that we weren’t doing this again,” She answered, scornful.

  
“Geraldine, turn on the news.” 

  
It was a single command, but he used his firm voice, so it worked.

  
She flicked on the television, the news automatically coming on.

  
There was a moment of silence, then a gasp, then a clatter of a remote as she shut it off.

  
“Archie, I know what you’re thinking and you need to stop. As far as anyone is concerned, we were never there.” 

  
“What? But we know something that no one else does, so why shouldn’t we tell anyone?”

  
“Because, Archie. People will ask what you were doing there, with me, early in the morning. If- when they find out, I could get arrested and you, you would probably get expelled, Archie. This is a secret, a dirty one too, but it’s a secret nonetheless, and it has to stay that way.” Ms. Grundy yelled through the phone, making actions with her free hand to emphasize points.

  
Archie knew there was no point in trying to argue, so he just agreed, for now.

  
That was why he needed to see her so badly. Jason’s body still hadn’t been found, in almost two months. That gunshot, it could’ve been murder.

  
“Okay, I know that’s important to you. Just, remember about the company. It runs in the family, making you the heir.” Fred said, a disappointed look on his face as Archie nodded feebly, grabbed and apple and walked out the door.

  
>>>>

  
It was only the first day of school and the pressure had already begun.

  
“Betty, this coming year is critical for colleges. Grades are important. Extracurriculars, athletics. Maintaining a decent character is hugely important. They do look at that.” Alice said, almost as if she had been practicing this in the mirror.

  
She probably had.

  
Betty always put so much pressure on herself, about school, friends, and home life. From an outsider’s perspective, it was easy to see where she got that from.

  
“Mom, I’m a sophomore.” Betty said, pasting a fake smile on her face, one of which her mother believed every time.

  
“I know, and you’ve already accomplished so much. I just don’t want anything jeopardizing that.” 

  
Betty sighed, remembering the dozens of times she’d heard this before. She moved around her room, gathering every notebook and textbook she could think of and shoving them into her backpack.

  
“I mean, just think of your poor sister. She was such a shining star before she let that Blossom boy ruin her.”

  
At that, Betty curled her fists, breaking skin.

  
How _dare_ her mother mention Polly, after everything she did to her. To Betty. 

  
Polly was her rock, the only thing that kept her grounded. Betty had always seen her and Jason’s relationship as something good, healthy. 

  
Then her mom sent Polly away, cracking Betty’s heart in two. The worst part was, her parents wouldn’t even tell her where Polly was, or why they couldn’t see each other.

  
Now, the only thing keeping her from completely unraveling was a blade of grass that she had caught herself on; Archie.

  
Pushing down her anger simultaneously with her fingernails, Betty spoke.

  
“Mom, I’m not Polly,” She said, trying to sound as calm as possible.

  
She felt a warm, wet substance seep through her fingers, signaling that she was quite angry.

  
“You missed curfew last night.” Alice said, trying to prove a point.

  
“By seven minutes. I was with Archie, who has red hair, yes, but is nothing like Jason Blossom.” Betty retorted, digging her nails in deeper at the thought of Jason.

  
One of the only bits of information that she was able to gather, was that Polly was freaking out _because of Jason_. That right there gave Betty a reason to be mad at someone else other than her parents.

  
“Sweetie, all boys are like Jason Blossom.”

  
 _What about girls_? Betty secretly thought. Though, she quickly shot those feelings down, embedding her fingers further into her palms. She would have to wash the blood away soon.

  
“I love you so much, Elizabeth. I need you to be smart, okay?” Alice said, with a smile.

  
Betty couldn’t tell if it was fake or not, because it reached her eyes. Maybe her mom had also mastered the art of fake smiles, or, maybe, it was genuine.

  
Betty just nodded, feeling even more anxious than before. 

  
Smart.

  
What did that mean exactly?

  
To get good grades? To not fall in with the wrong crowd? To make rational decisions?

  
All of the above.

  
But, most of all, it meant to be perfect. She might as well have just said that.

  
Be _perfect little Elizabeth_.

  
“I know, mom. Like always.” She said, a hint of regret in her voice. If Alice had heard it, she just ignored it.

  
“But, most importantly, stay focused.”

  
Alice widened her smile, a little too much, as she dug through her purse and revealed a white bag.

  
It was from the pharmacy.

  
 _Oh, thank god_. Her heart started racing, excited at the prospect of having her dear Adderall, again.

  
She almost made a grab for it, quickly unclenching her fists. Then the pain hit her like a tidal wave.

  
She visibly flinched, then started to tremble, tears threatening to escape.

  
She pushed them back, and, not wanting to sound desperate, settled for saying a thank you, and grabbing the tip of the bag, very lightly with two fingers.

  
Her mom nodded, not noticing that her daughter was clearly in pain.

  
“Well, hurry up, Elizabeth. We leave in ten minutes. Tardiness is a terrible habit.” She said, casting another fake smile over at Betty, and swiftly exiting her room.

  
Betty let out a gasp as soon as she left, succumbing to the pain and breaking into tears.

  
She dropped the bag on her bed, discarding it for now. Besides, she wouldn’t need them today; she still had some Racetams left.

  
She ran into her bathroom, turning on the cold water and running her palms under the faucet, the water tinging itself a dark pink as it soothed her wounds.

  
She sobbed, knowing that she’d have to go at least 7 hours without alone time. Seven hours in which any combination of things could happen.

Someone could make fun of Polly, ask about Betty and if she’s okay, and, worst of all, Veronica.

  
That in itself was a whole other problem.

  
Her panic attack went on for eight minutes, being silenced by the warning yell of Alice Cooper, telling Betty to ‘get herself downstairs within the next two minutes, or she wouldn’t get dinner’.

  
Betty hadn’t trained herself to always stop what she was doing when her mom talked to her, but it had always been programmed into her brain. Like it was natural. 

  
She gasped, glancing in the mirror and seeing what a mess her makeup was, as she hastily turned off the faucet and dried her hands.

  
 _Disgusting_ , was Betty’s only thought.

  
Grabbing a makeup wipe, Betty got all of the makeup off of her face, then re-did everything, a permanent scowl on her face.

  
Her palms were still leaking a bit of blood every now and then, but they weren’t as bad as they had been.

  
They were tender; Betty winced when anything came into contact with them.

  
With thirty seconds to go, Betty rifled through her medicine cabinet, finding a white pill box at the very back of it. Downing two Xanax, she put it back, making sure to camouflage it in with a couple random bottles.

  
She felt an instant wave of relief wash over her, as she double-checked herself in the mirror, eyes flitting over her gaunt figure for abnormalities.

  
There was nothing that she could tell, other than her usual ugliness.

  
Sighing, Betty turned off the bathroom light and grabbed her backpack, making sure she had her phone in her pocket.

  
She ran down the stairs, getting a little dizzy doing so. Her mother greeted her with a plastic smile, gesturing to where her coat and shoes lay, neatly tucked into a corner.

  
Betty quickly put them on, her palms screaming at all of the contact she was giving them. Pushing down the pain, she followed her mom out the door, dressed in her favourite pair of blue converse, with a light pink jacket.

  
Betty had wanted to walk to school, to spend some more time with Archie. However, her mother insisted that she drive her, considering it was the first day of school. It didn’t make any sense to her, but she knew better than to argue with her mothers’ tactics.

  
The car ride was silent, other than the quiet classical music playing from the radio. Classical was the only type of music that Betty was allowed to listen to. Any other kind would, as her mother said,’ corrupt her young and impressionable mind’. 

  
Betty had wanted to retort something along the lines of,’ you’ve already corrupted me enough for two lifetimes, music won’t do anything!’ But she would get yelled at, and probably smacked.

  
She had always had that itch to let loose, listen to the regular radio and sing along to the hits, even of she didn’t know any of them. That was just something that would simply never happen.

  
When they got to the school, Betty was relieved to get out of the car. She had too many bad memories from that confined space.

  
Hitting, yelling, cursing. The whole nine yards.

  
Before she could get out, however, her mom spoke up.

  
“Elizabeth, remember what I said. We don’t want you turning out like Polly.”

  
She then smiled and waved, as Betty promptly got away from that conversation.

  
 _So much for no blood, today_ , Betty thought, the mere name of her beloved sister enough to set her off the edge.

  
It was going to be a long day.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope everyone's doing alright during this difficult time. But it's okay if you're not; you don't have to be. This chapter should have been out about a month ago and for that I'm sorry. Writers block is THE most annoying thing that I have encountered in a while. Anyway, here it is, I hope you enjoy.

The office was quiet, with the exception of the dripping of water inside the fish tank. Waiting for Veronica was officially agonizing.

_ Why, oh why, did I sign up for this stupid peer mentor program? _

The answer was simple; because her mother decided for her.

Betty’s mind was spinning in what seemed like a million different directions, or, better yet, to every bad scenario that could happen.

Veronica could see how truly stupid Betty was, and would run as fast as she could in the other direction.

They could hit it off, and Veronica would want to be her friend.

_ Or more? _

Betty pushed that thought away.

Lastly, Veronica could have the feelings that Archie clearly has for her, and they could get together, making everyone happy but Betty.

She tried to convince herself that the fallout of that situation would be losing Archie, but she didn’t know if that were true anymore. The feelings that she suppressed ever since she discovered what love felt like, were coming out.

Betty had done such a spectacular and meticulous job of it that even Kevin hadn’t caught on. Neither had Jughead, surprisingly, as he had a gaydar the size of the sun.

Betty was even second-guessing her feelings toward Archie, and if they were ever real. She was considering the fact that her mother had always said that they would end up together, even if she hated the idea of Betty having a boyfriend.

The more she thought about it, the more she knew her feelings weren’t in fact real, they were influenced, fake. Lies and propaganda of what her mother wanted for her.

She had always been taught what to look for in a guy, what society deemed ‘hot’, so Betty deemed those things ‘hot’, too.

What sealed the deal, though, was the fact that Veronica hadn’t left her mind since she first laid eyes on her.

Her lips, her hair, her beautiful chocolate-brown eyes, everything. Every thought eventually ended in Veronica. Worries, hopes, even nightmares.

It had never been that way with Archie. Betty thought of him occasionally, but he had never occupied as much space in her brain as Veronica did now.

Archie was more of a big brother, support system even. But if she ended up with him, she wouldn’t get shunned. She wouldn’t be in love, but she would be accepted.

Was that a price she was willing to pay?

Before she could decide, the sound of high heels clicking against the linoleum floor interrupted her thoughts.

Betty brought her eyes up from the ground, as she laid them upon  _ the _ Veronica Lodge.

“We meet again, Betty Cooper.” Veronica smiled, her hand poised and ready for a shake.

Thankful that she had refrained from digging her nails in so far, Betty shook Veronica’s hand.

The gesture lasted a second too long, as they hastily drew their own hands back.

“So, I guess we should get on with this tour, then,” Betty said awkwardly, trying to diffuse the obvious tension in the room.

“Probably. School does start in twenty minutes. Wouldn’t want to be late for the first day, now would we?” Veronica said, following Betty as she led them out of the office.

“Well, I usually like to start off my tours with a little history and context. Riverdale High first opened its doors in 1914 and-,”

“And hasn’t redecorated since, apparently.” Veronica joked, her eyes glowing at the giggle that Betty made.

The giggle, however, wasn’t genuine. It was half-hearted, like she wanted to let loose and have fun, but was scared of doing so. 

Veronica turned and looked over at Betty, examining her smile. 

It didn’t look genuine either. 

The tightness in her shoulders did, though. How her hands were constantly curled into fists, hiding emotion. 

_ No one should have to live like this, let alone a 15-year-old, _ Veronica thought.

“So, what’s the social scene like here? Any secret gay bars I should know about? Those were my favourites back in New York.” Veronica asked, gently bringing up her sexuality.

She saw Betty’s eyes flicker, anxiety apparent in them. However, as fast as the difference had come, it was gone. 

She opened her mouth to answer Veronica’s question, but the words were snatched off her tongue by a guy in a bowtie coming up behind them.

“A strip club called the Ho Zone, and, to answer your question, a tragic gay bar called Innuendo. Friday nights, football games and tailgate parties in the Mal-Mart parking lot. Saturday is movie night, regardless of what’s playing at the Bijou and you better get there early because we don’t have reserved seating in Riverdale. Sunday nights? Thank god for HBO.”

“Veronica Lodge, Kevin Keller,” Betty said, introducing the two teens with a wave of her fisted hand.

“Kevin is-”

“Gay. Thank god. Let’s be best friends.” Veronica was quick to interject, even though she wasn’t sure in the least bit that that was what Betty was going to say.

She also decided not to flat out say that she was lesbian, out of concern for Betty.

And at the mention of the word, she froze again, that same anxiety filling her eyes and then draining out, in a matter of seconds.

But it was more than anxiety; it was fear.

Betty clearly didn’t have any issues with other people being gay, seeing as she and Kevin were very close. From where he was hugging Betty backwards, he looked giddy at finding another person to go clubbing with.

It was more the fact that she was scared of being gay herself. Veronica knew that look, she’d worn it for years. 

Afraid of the potential consequences of her sexuality. No one deserved to bear it.

“Is it true, what they say about your dad?” Kevin blurted, letting his curiosity get the better of him, while simultaneously getting a silencing glare from Betty.

“What, that he’s the devils incarnate?” Veronica said, letting a bit of venom sink into her words. Her father was a whole other topic, one that she did not want to bring up.

“I stand by my father. Does everyone here know?”

Veronica looked from Kevin, over to Betty, who was tilting her head back and forth in the air, her lips pressed together as if contemplating something. Kevin just looked away, which was another dead giveaway.

“Wonderful. Ten minutes in and I’m already the Blue Jasmine of Riverdale High.”

Strutting away, Veronica brought her fingers up to her neck, where she fiddled with the necklace of delicate pearls that hung there.

Betty knew too well how difficult being a teenager and dealing with familial issues was. She wouldn’t wish it on anyone. 

Maybe Cheryl. But she already had her fair share of that stuff, seeing as Polly _and_ Jason both disappeared from Riverdale on that dreaded July 4th. 

Giving Kevin one last  _ really?  _ look, Betty jogged around the corner to meet up with Veronica, only, she was stopped by a sudden wave of dizziness.

It crashed over her, hard, as she hurriedly leaned against the wall for support. 

_ Nononono. Not now of all times! _

Black spots appearing at the edge of her vision, her eyelids drooped with exhaustion. Her breathing became laboured, as she struggled to stay awake. 

This happened to her a couple of times a day, but they were usually much less severe than this.

Black enveloping her mind, Betty went to fall over. However, at the last second, Veronica turned around, noticing Betty’s dizzy spell, and practically fell over trying to get to her. 

Once Betty was in her arms, Veronica gently slapped Betty’s face, in an attempt to wake her.

“Betty, Betty wake up!” Veronica said, frantic. 

Betty blinked open her eyes, sleepy. As she took her own weight and leaned up the wall once again, she said, “Wha-.”

She looked around, realization hitting her. She looked at Veronica, deep into her eyes, as if seeing her for the first time.

Then fear hit her gaze, and she looked away.

“Did you eat breakfast this morning?” Veronica asked, already knowing the answer. When she caught her, she was as light as a feather. Too light.

“Of course!” She replied a little too quickly.

“I-I just didn’t get a lot of sleep last night, you know, first day of school jitters and that.” 

“Yeah, totally,” Veronica said, silently vowing to make sure she saw Betty eat something and not throw it up.

_ Okay, there is something seriously wrong with this girl. _

Watching Betty regain all of her balance, she plastered that fake smile on her face again, and walked a few steps away from the wall, confident.

She acted as if nothing had happened, as if she hadn’t just fainted.

“Uh, so what haven’t we covered yet?” Betty asked, shooting Veronica a warning glance when Kevin caught up to them. He clearly didn’t know about her dizzy spells, and she clearly didn’t want him to.

In the mindset that she wanted to become friends with this girl, she obeyed the glance.

“Oh, of course, there’s the back to school semi-formal dance!” Betty said, excitement glittering in her eyes. This was something that at least brought her a tiny bit of joy. Veronica honestly couldn’t tell.

As they turned another corner, Veronica caught sight of Archie, the guy that Betty may or may not have a crush on.

“There’s the hottie you were with last night, the red-headed Ansel Elgort. Is he your boyfriend? Veronica said, waiting for Betty to start talking about him, or confirming that it was true.

She didn’t.

Instead, she got an anxious look in her eye.

Betty replied,” No, we’re just friends,” at the same time Kevin replied,” No, he’s straight.” 

Veronica giggled, then said,” Well, who’s his girlfriend? A guy like that must have one.” 

Betty winced. Why couldn’t this conversation end?

Veronica had witnessed one of her dizzy spells, and would clearly bring up the topic later, judging by that worried look in her eye. It would be so much easier if she just didn’t care, like everyone else.

_ She likes gay bars, does that mean she likes girls? _

That thought kept swirling around in her head, no matter how much she tried to push it away. 

Betty figured that the dizzy spell was just the drugs kicking in; it usually happened like that. She did feel calmer than she had before. 

Only a little, though.

“Actually, to clarify, Betty and Archie aren’t dating, but they are endgame. And he isn’t dating, obviously because he’s waiting to ask Betty out.” Kevin said.

Betty just nodded with Veronica, not wanting to change her thoughts. 

“You should take charge, ask him to the semi-formal,” Veronica said, hoping for an objection.

“She should, but I heard that it might be getting cancelled, because of what happened to Jason.” 

“Who is Jason, and what happened to him?” Veronica asked, struck blind by the mention of Jason.

Betty clenched her fists, instinctively, as she simultaneously tried to stop. She really didn't need a mess of blood, on top of all the other stressors.

“Actually, you’ll find out all about him at the assembly we have to go to, right about now,” Kevin said, sweeping out his arm as a gesture to follow him.

Veronica noticed Betty get very tense when Kevin talked about Jason, it was clearly a sore spot for her. 

Betty walked a little faster, with her fists clenched, going in between Kevin and Veronica. 

Veronica wanted to reach out and massage her tight fists, let all of her stress melt away.

_ That’ll have to wait, Veronica. You have to get closer to Betty, show her that you can be trusted. _

And that is just what she would do.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Today is a very special day for me. It is the six month anniversary of me publishing my first chapter of fanfiction! It was on a show called Arrow, over on Fanfiction.net. I'm working to get it transferred over here, but I can't find the og copies of it. Anyway, a couple of other things. I recently found out that I can't volunteer at the summer camp that I usually volunteer at, so that means I just got a lot of free time in summer. Plus I won't have any work to do school-wise, so fanfiction can get prioritized. Lastly, thank you for all the support you guys have given me over the past few months of writing this fic! Honestly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. I started this fic because I have so many ideas that I need to get on to paper, and having people riding along with me on this incredible journey is amazing. I have no plans for discontinuing this fic, just so you know. Also, happy pride month everybody! As a member of the LGBTQ2A+ community, June is my favourite month. So celebrate loud and proud! On a more serious note, I fully support BLM. If you don't, kindly stop reading my fics and disassociate yourself from me, as I don't want to have you viewing my works. I will get some links in my bio for petitions you can sign and orginizations you can donate to. Moving on, I hope you enjoy Chapter 6!

Chapter 6

It turns out there was some pretty juicy stuff that happened to Jason.

At least, that’s how Veronica would describe it.

To boil it all down, Jason Blossom was Cheryl’s twin, who was currently presumed dead. 

But, not declared it.

July 4th, which was supposed to be a day of celebration, turned out to be a day of tragedy in Riverdale. The twins had gone to the infamous Sweetwater River for an early morning canoe ride, which was pretty suspicious, according to Veronica.

Cheryl had apparently dropped a glove in the water, making her dear brother lean over the side to grasp it for her. Next thing you know, Cheryl is huddled on the rocks, soaked through, crying her eyes out, the sobs drowned out by the churning river.

They had dragged the river for his body for days, eventually giving up when there was no evidence of a dead body whatsoever. 

It certainly was the tragedy of the summer.

Jason had been the Finn Hudson of Riverdale High; he was the quarterback, the only nice person on the football team, he cared for Cheryl like no other, really, he was genuinely a nice guy. 

According to Kevin.

Funnily enough, Jason also dated Betty’s sister, Polly. This was news to Veronica, as she wasn’t even aware that Betty had a sister, let alone a popular one like that.

She wondered what happened to her after Jasons demise; did she graduate? Was she in hiding? Was she so heartbroken that she physically couldn’t function?

Veronica had heard that heartbreak could do that to a person. Luckily, she had never known the pain. But she might have to endure it soon.

She wondered especially though, what lasting impact did the mystery have on Betty?

She was obviously hurting, but she was so good at hiding it that no one had noticed. No one but Veronica, that is. 

Just imagining having to help a sibling through a loss like that, well, it was tragic. 

_ Well, lucky for me, I can find out. _

Veronica trotted down the steps to the quad, determination blazing in her like a fire, that not even the largest fire truck could put out.

She set her sights for Betty’s table, but was distracted by the piercing gaze that one Cheryl Blossom was giving her. 

She had seen her briefly at the assembly, noting that the strikingly red hair was the Blossom family’s signature trait. 

Returning the gaze, Veronica spiced hers with questioning. Cheryl just smirked, then turned around, presumably to converse with her lackeys. 

Veronica didn’t have a problem with that. Eventually, she spotted Betty’s table, which was painstakingly on the complete other side of the yard.

As she got closer, she could hear the distinct sound of music coming out of Archie’s laptop. Betty was leaned in, slowly bobbing her head to the tune playing. 

“Can I join?” 

The sound of her voice made the hair stick up on the back of Betty’s neck. 

_ Damn. _

Worry flooded her as she realized that Veronica would most likely notice the absence of food on her plate. 

“Yeah.” Betty declared nonchalantly, trying to keep her nails from digging in. After the assembly, she had had to go run her hands under the bathroom faucets for a solid five minutes in order for the blood flow to stop. This day was already proving to be more than she could handle.

“What are we doing?” Veronica asked, inquisitive.

“Listening to one of Archie’s songs,” Betty said, scrunching up her nose in admiration.

“I thought we were gonna have to pretend to like it, but it’s actually really good!” Kevin said, chiming in to the conversation.

Setting her purse down on the bench, Veronica asked,” Wait, that was you singing something you wrote?”

“It’s rough.” Archie said, being modest. Veronica had pegged him out that way since the moment she set eyes on him. Speaking of which,  _ his _ eyes were scraping Veronica up and down. 

“No, it’s great.” Betty retorted.

“It’s incredible, actually. The little snippet I heard. Is that your thing? Music? Are you doing something with that?” Veronica asked, her eyes quickly grazing over Betty’s placemat, and noticing that sadly, there was nothing there.

Betty, on the other hand, was greedily drinking in all the sight of Veronica she could possibly get. She scolded herself for it, but, what could she do? It wasn’t like she invited Veronica to sit with them, or anything. 

She brought her eyes to her lap, realizing that if she continued on this path any longer that she would end up drawing some blood.

“Yeah that’s the plan. So, how’s your first day going, good?”

“Not to be a complete narcissist, but I thought people would be more-,”

“Obsessed with you?” Kevin interjected, nodding a little too enthusiastically at Veronica. 

Betty’s head snapped up at the sound of the girl’s voice, being blissfully happy for a second, her voice sounding like honey. Sweet, it caressed Betty’s fears and melted them away.

It scared her how easily she could let her guard down like that, seeing as she prided herself on keeping it up. 

The girls locked eyes for a split second, before breaking their gazes away to look at Kevin.

Kevin did not miss  _ that _ interaction. He was living for it. 

“Any other year, you’d be trending number one. This year, however, it’s all about Cheryl trying to win Best Supporting Psycho Oscar, for her role as Riverdale’s bereaved Red Widow.” Kevin said, rolling his eyes, subtly eyeing the two crushing girls.

Betty and Archie nodded in agreement, Betty doing so in quite an aggressive matter. The only thing stopping her from hurting herself was the comforting stare Veronica was giving her. 

She returned it, her lips upturning in a small smile in doing so.

Kevin flicked his eyes up at the exact right moment to see Cheryl sashaying over to their table.

“Pshh, guys. Cheryl. 12’oclock.” 

Betty let out a little gasp as Archie said,” Well, I should go. Meeting with Grundy, then football tryouts.”

Betty wished that she could just walk away like that. Only, she didn’t have any solid reason to. Cheryl would just pick on her more.

“You play football too? God, what can’t you do?” Veronica asked as Archie was walking away. He let out a little snort, then turned and jogged out of sight. 

_ Shit. Veronica thinks I have a crush on Archie. _

Somehow, in the overwhelming events of the day, she had forgotten about her feelings for Archie completely. She wasn’t sad, though, she felt more free than she had been in a while. 

However, if she was going to keep up her appearance as the perfect girl next door, then she would have to get with the boy next door.

“Before you ask, Blue Jasmine, no, she has not invited-,” Kevin started.

Cheryl was inching closer by the second, as Betty blurted, with her hands fisted,” No, not yet. And don’t talk about Archie.” 

Thankfully, she managed to get that all out before Cheryl came up to their table.

“Veronica Lodge. I’ve heard whisperings. I’m Cheryl Blossom. May I sit? Betty, would you mind?” Cheryl queried.

Before Betty could get a word in, Cheryl was already buttscooching her way next to her.

“So, what are you three hens gossiping about? Archie’s Effron-esque emergence from the chrysalis of puberty?”

Betty gave her head a sharp but subtle shake, fear glazing her eyes over.

They locked eyes again, much more subtly this time.

“Extracurriculars. Weatherbee wants me to sign up for a few.”

Betty’s green depths got a little calmer as Veronica diverted the conversation.

“Cheerleading. You must! I am senior captain of the River Vixens.”Cheryl insisted.

“Is cheerleading still a thing?” Kevin quipped.

“Is being the gay best friend still a thing?” 

Veronica gave a quiet chuckle, while Betty seemed to shrink further into her seat.

“Some people say it’s retro. I say it’s eternal and iconic.”

“At Spence I sat at the top of the elite’s pyramid. I’m in.” Veronica agreed.

Noticing the anxiety floating around in Betty’s aura, Veronica said,” Betty, you’re trying out too.”

“Of course. Anyone is welcome to try out. But Betty’s already got so much on her plate right now,” Cheryl paused, purposefully glancing down at the tray of food set out in front of Betty, of which Archie had left behind.

“Being a River Vixen is kind of a full-time thing. But, open to all!”

At that comment, Veronica could see Betty’s already chalk-white knuckles tighten. 

“Follow me on Twitter and I’ll do the same. My handle’s @CherylBomshell.” Cheryl said, as if she hadn’t just insulted Betty in one of the worst ways she could have been insulted.

Thankfully though, Cheryl got up and gracefully walked back across the quad, despite wearing 9 inch heels. 

Betty let out a bitter laugh, pushing the lunch tray away from herself. 

“Okay, go ahead and hate on cheerleading, but if Hipster Prince Harry-,” Veronica started.

“Oh, I’d love to be a cheerleader,” Betty said with somewhat actual enthusiasm. 

‘It would look great on my college applications, but, last year, when I tried out, Cheryl said I was too fat.” She gave a sarcastic smile, as she shook her head in anger.

“Too season 5 Betty Draper. It was a great line.” Kevin said.

“But not at all true.” Kevin defended himself once he saw both girls’ annoyed stares.

_ Damn, I can see why she had issues. _ Veronica thought, saddening herself with another thought on how she didn’t think Betty really had anyone to talk to. 

Sure, she had Kevin. But Veronica didn’t think that he was the kind of person she’d spill her problems and insecurities with.

Then, there was Archie, who she was maybe crushing on. Veronica hoped not. She thought that Betty wanted to put on an act for him, to make him believe that everything was fine, so he’d like her more. 

_ She must do that a lot. _

“Well, you’re a total smoke show now.”

Betty’s lips unturned in a small smile when Veronica said this. 

It was small, but it was still noticeable.

“I mean it. And as hot and as smart as you are, you should be the Queen Bey of this drab hive.”

Betty let out a little giggle, fists relaxing a bit. 

This was the happiest she had felt in a long time, even considering Veronica was a sore spot for her. 

There was just a way that she said things, so real. Her words were honest, Betty could tell. 

If that compliment had come from anyone else, she would have brushed it off. 

Not Veronica, though.

Kevin didn’t miss the way the two girls giddily smiled at each other, their eyes interlocking for what seemed like the thousandth time today. 

He arched his eyebrow in pleasure, a giddy smile appearing on his face as well.

“Look, if you want to be a River Vixen, I’ll help you prep. I have moves.”

“You know what? Show me your moves.” Betty said, feeling a spike of excitement. 

“Yay!” Veronica smiled. 

“But, you’re going to have to eat that apple.” She said, pointing to the apple on Archie’s abandoned tray.

“I-I had a full breakfast.” Betty said, that specific overused excuse an automatic response. She seemed to shrink back into herself, disgusted at the thought of eating food. 

“Even so, my moves are pretty intense, so you’re going to want as much energy as you can get.” Veronica insisted, looking Betty straight in the eye. 

She reached across the table, picked up the apple and placed it down in front of Betty. 

Reluctantly, Betty picked it up and took a small bite out of it. 

Veronica gave her an encouraging smile, as she said,” Actually, take that with you. We should go to a patch of grass and go over the routine quick. I’ll teach it to you while you eat.”

“Okay.”

They walked away, their minds whirling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be the big kiss! Who's excited? I know I am. Also, I just realized that I published Chapter 6, on my 6th month anniversary of writing fics, in the 6th month of the year, on the 18th which is divisible by 6. Math is crazy.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sup. Chapter 7 is here faster than anyone could have predicted. Imma try to update more frequently especially because we are getting to a really juicy part of the story. I know it's probably going to take me 15 chapters to get through the pilot but that is mostly bc a lot of the scenes in the pilot are important. This fic also keeps me distracted from certain unwanted thoughts if u know what I mean :(. Anywho I hope u guys enjoy and feel free to leave comments bc I love them more than life :)

  
“You got it?”

  
“Yeah, I think so,” Betty nervously chuckled, repeating the cheerleading moves Veronica had just taught her. 

  
The routine was pretty complex, but Betty should’ve figured that when Veronica told her that she’d show her her ‘moves’. 

  
She had fallen a couple of times, staining the knees in her jeans. 

  
“Veronica! My mom is going to kill me!” She had said, starting to panic. 

  
Dirty clothes and grass stains were not a virtue of the perfect girl next door. 

  
“Hey, hey. It’s okay. You can come to my place after school and I can wash them there. Your mom will never have to know.” Veronica said, arms steadying Betty’s shoulders. 

  
Of course, that brought up more anxiety because Betty’s mom would absolutely positively never allow her to go to a friends’ house after school. 

  
However, Veronica brought out a rebellious side in Betty. She had never really asked her mom to hang out with a friend after school, anyway.

  
“Yeah. Yeah, that’d be great. Thanks.”

  
“Anytime.”

  
Now, they were speed walking over to 4th period science class, which they shared. 

  
“Really, there’s nothing to be afraid of. Mr. Beaker is all talk. I mean, his last name is Beaker.” Betty reassured Veronica, easing her worries of science class.

  
“Right! Like, if that’s your last name, you have to go into science. You don’t have a choice.”

  
By the time they were in class, they were both feverish from giggling too much. 

  
They took seats next to each other, almost instinctively, seeing as they worked so well together. 

  
They chatted about what classes they were taking, their dream jobs and, science, of course. 

  
However, Veronica noticed that anytime she brought up home life, Betty would curl into herself with anxiety. Like just the mention of her family was enough to set her off. 

  
Veronica promptly dropped any and all mentions of that subject. 

  
As it turned out, they also had English class and Algebra class together. 

  
They bonded over quadratic equations and Shakespeare until the home bell rang. 

  
“You ready?” Veronica asked as they were changing into some gym clothes. 

  
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Betty said, nervous, as she pulled her shirt over her head. 

  
She was self-consciously turned around, so that Veronica couldn’t see her stomach.

  
Even so, Veronica could see her entire spine through her back.

  
She gasped, loud enough for Betty to whirl around in concern. 

  
“What happened?” 

  
“Oh, nothing. I just stubbed my toe on the bench,” Veronica lied, thanking the fact that there was a bench right next to her. 

  
Betty gave a nod of understanding as she tugged a Riverdale High t-shirt over her torso. 

  
She had already changed into some shorts, that let Veronica see that there was next to no meat on her legs.

  
That really worried her. 

  
They walked out of the dressing rooms and into the gym, being the last people there to try out. 

  
Immediately, Betty recognized the red-headed bombshell seated at a table in the middle of the gym.

  
Her fists went to curl in, but the handles of her pom-poms were in the way. 

  
_Fuck,_ she thought.

  
She settled for gripping the hard-plastic handles as hard as she could.

  
The two girls scuttled over to the table, Cheryl staring Betty down all the way.

  
“Well? What are you waiting for ladies? Show me what you’ve got!” Cheryl demanded in that sickly-sweet voice.

  
With a nod to each other, they began.

  
The entire routine lasted about two minutes, for that Betty was thankful.

  
She nearly passed out when they were practicing it, and she had just had food.

  
Looking back though, that was probably why. 

  
Nowadays, whenever she had food in her stomach, she felt sick. 

  
She had just kept running the numbers through her head of what she had eaten.

  
_57 calories._

  
_That’s not too bad_ , she thought. 

  
That still didn’t damper the unquenchable thirst to get it out of her body.

  
Surprisingly though, something did. Or rather, someone.

  
Veronica had kept Betty so occupied with her that she had completely forgotten about everything else. 

  
She didn’t know whether that was a bad thing or not. 

  
She hoped not.

  
“We’re Blue and Gold! We’re dynamite! We’ll take you down and fight! We’ll fight! Whoo! Go Bulldogs!” Betty and Veronica sang in unison, waving their yellow-and-white pom-poms through the air.

  
They stopped dancing, both breathing heavily, though Betty heavier than Veronica.

  
Immediately, Cheryl jumped in with her two-cents. Betty sucked in a breath of fear.

  
“Hm. Ladies, where’s the heat? Where’s the sizzle?”

  
Veronica looked Cheryl dead in the eye and, dropping her pop-poms, said,” Well, you haven’t seen our big finish yet.”

  
 _What the hell does she mean by that_? Betty wondered.

  
In a swift motion, Veronica stepped closer to Betty and took Betty’s arms in hers.

  
It was a spur of the moment decision, clouded by copious amounts of teenage hormones, but Veronica was still going to go through with it.

  
Ignoring all the thoughts telling her to absolutely not do this, Veronica said, “Don’t freak out. Just trust me,” then pulled an oblivious Betty into a warm, passionate kiss.

  
It was like the whole world had imploded in on itself. 

  
Betty’s mind all went to fuzz, as all her muscles relaxed, causing her to drop her pom-poms.

  
It was like floating on clouds of honey. 

  
Veronica’s lips tasted like one of the Hershey kisses that she had snuck into English class. Betty had been offered one, but politely declined.

  
Their lips moved against each other’s seamlessly, as if they had done it a thousand times before.

  
Time seemed to stop, as Veronica pushed her tongue against Betty’s teeth. 

  
Quickly, she was granted access. 

  
Their tongues moved together even more gracefully, as Betty was sucked further into a dream-like world.

  
Suddenly, the dream-like world vanished, as Veronica pulled away from the kiss. 

  
Reality came crashing down on Betty, as she stepped back and self-consciously and tried to wipe Veronica’s smeared lipstick off her lips.

  
Panic settling in, Betty took in her surroundings.

  
There were the jocks, who were catcalling beyond belief, Veronica, who had the biggest smirk that Betty had ever seen, and Cheryl, who was no doubt about to fire out an insult. 

  
“Check your sell-by date, ladies. Faux-lesbian kissing hasn’t been taboo since 1994. So let’s see if you do better with the interview portion.”

  
 _What if that wasn’t fake? What if that’s how I feel?_

  
So many questions were buzzing through Betty’s head, but the most prominent of them all being; ‘why did that feel so amazing?’

  
Restless, she rubbed her hands together in a meek effort to supress her urge to sink her fingernails in.

  
“Betty, how’s your sister doing?” Cheryl asked, clearly trying to get a rise out of her.

  
That she did. 

  
All it took was a single sentence and Betty’s nails were digging trenches into her palms.

  
All her feelings of rage, anger, sadness and anxiety were re-surfacing at the worst of times.

  
“Um, Polly’s fine. Thanks for asking,” Betty replied, a slight tremor in her voice. 

  
She was on un-tread territory. 

  
“Veronica, has Betty told you about her sister yet?”

  
“Um, no?” Veronica said, confused at the ferocity in Cheryl’s tone.

  
_Why would Cheryl care so much about me knowing about Betty’s sister?_

  
Then she remembered that Cheryl was an HBIC, aka stone-cold bitch. They didn’t always have reasons.

  
They didn’t always need reasons.

  
“Go ahead, Betty. Tell Veronica about your sister and my dear brother.” 

  
Taking another sharp sigh, Betty spoke,” Polly and Jason dated-,”

  
“I wouldn’t say dated,” Cheryl laughed, cutting Betty off with ease. 

  
“It didn’t end well.” Betty finished, digging her nails in deeper still.

  
“In fact, Jason’s probably the reason why your sister had a nervous breakdown and now lives in a group home. Isn’t it?” Cheryl queried.

  
“That’s what my parents think.” 

  
“What do you have to say about that, Betty?

  
“Go ahead, the floor is yours. Whatever you’ve been dying to spew about Jason and how he treated Polly, unleash it.”

  
Her nails went in deeper.

  
“Destroy me.”

  
Deeper.

“Tear me a new one, rip me to shreds.”

  
Two drops of blood leaked out of her knuckles, which she soaked up with the side of her shirt.

  
“Annihilate me.”

  
Deeper.

  
“I just,”

  
“Finally,” Cheryl sighed.

  
It seemed as though Betty was choosing her next words carefully. 

  
Like her mind was at war with itself.

  
Veronica wanted to step in and help but it just wasn’t the time.

  
Her nails were digging deeper still and blood was close to pouring out of the wounds and Veronica was about to step over because it was getting to be too much-

  
Then nothing.

  
All the pressure released from her fists as she flattened them against her shorts.

  
An odd sense of calm washed over her as she said,” I just wanted to say I’m sorry. About what happened to Jason. I can’t even imagine what you and your family must be going through.”

  
Veronica’s gaze was flickering between two things; Betty’s hands and her face. 

  
She just looked like she needed a hug.

  
Betty couldn’t have gone from hurting herself and making herself bleed to apologizing to her bully and expressing her condolences.

  
There was something deeper going on and Veronica would get to the bottom of it.

  
“Right.” Cheryl sighed, tears glistening in her eyes.

  
She was just another mystery all together.

  
Cheryl took a moment to gather herself, swallowed, then said,” Veronica. Welcome to the River Vixens. Betty, better luck next time.”

  
The last four words were hardly said, more like growled.

  
Veronica scoffed.

  
“Wait, what? Why? Because you couldn’t bully Betty into being a bitch?” 

  
Betty just focused her eyes downward, tears clearly sparking in them. It was as if she felt shame for what just happened.

  
“I need girls with fire on my squad.” Cheryl said, simply.

  
_Oh, this girl is about to get exactly what’s coming for her._

  
“I know what you need, Cheryl. Because I know who you are.

  
“You would rather people fear you than like you. So, you traffic in terror and intimidation.

  
“You’re rich, so you’ve never been held accountable. But I’m living proof. That certainty, that entitlement you wear on your head like a crown, it won’t last.” 

  
Veronica continued talking, her voice rising by the syllable, whilst Betty was watching Cheryl, fearful, as always. 

  
She really didn’t understand why Veronica was sticking up for her. 

  
Why her?

  
What was so special about her that Veronica wanted to protect?

  
“Eventually, there will be a reckoning. Or, maybe, that reckoning is now. And maybe that reckoning, is me.”

  
She was walking over to the table at this point, a challenge in itself.

  
They were staring each other down like wolves ready to attack, and boy, was it the most intriguing thing Betty had seen in ages. 

  
“Betty and I come as a matching set. You want one, you take us both. You wanted fire? Well sorry Cheryl Bombshell, my specialty is ice.”

  
The room went dead silent. 

  
The minute Cheryl turned her fiery stare on Betty, she ducked her head down like a dog who had been scolded.

  
However, she seemed to be contemplating what Veronica had said.

  
After a few moments, she declared in mock enthusiasm, “Fine. Veronica, and Betty- “she groaned,” You two are the newest members of the River Vixens.”

  
Veronica just smirked at her and turned on her heel, sashaying over to Betty.

  
She was like a deer in headlights.

  
“Oh, and by the way Cheryl, we were wondering where we could find our _River Vixen_ outfits?” Veronica said, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

  
“That’s not my problem. Ask any of the sluts on the team,” she said, not two seconds before the gym doors slammed shut and Cheryl Blossom was nowhere to be seen.

  
Rolling her eyes, Veronica softened them and turned her attention to Betty, or, more specifically, her hands.

  
“If you let me help you, I won’t say anything to anyone. We don’t even have to speak of it again, just let me help.”

  
That was all it took for B&V to be forged in fire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the angst escalates...  
> Also thank u guys for 1000 hits! I didn't think that very many ppl would want to read the storylines that I concoct in my messed up mind at 3am but here we are. I seriously love you guys with my whole heart.  
> This was also my first-ever attempt at writing anything romancy so I'll just apologize.  
> until next time xxx


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW// for panic attacks and mild abuse in this chapter. Other than that, enjoy Chapter 8!

She hesitated, but in the end, she gave in. Betty just prayed to god that Veronica would keep her promise.

Veronica slowly guided Betty out of the gym, flipping off the jocks that were still catcalling.

They walked in silence, Veronica acknowledging how hard it must be for Betty to make herself vulnerable like this.

With Katy, it was her biggest secret, something she was terrified to let out.

So, Veronica could only assume it had to be something along those lines with Betty.

They made it to the girls’ washrooms in record time, Veronica locking the door behind them.

Betty had been pressing her hands into the sides of her shirt, trying to stop the blood flow. Even so, the blood kept coming.

Veronica led Betty over to the sinks, where she ran freezing cold water over her wounds. Veronica could tell Betty was in a lot of pain.

She was squinting, her pale green eyes alight with suffering and stress. All of her muscles were tensed up, her frame rigid.

“They’ve been like this the last few months,” Betty started, her breath starting to hitch.

“When-whenever I dig in my nails, they bleed non-stop. It never used to be like this.” Her voice sounded so pitiful, so beaten down that Veronica was sure that she would shed some tears over the pure sight of the blond girl.

“I don’t- I don’t know,” Betty sobbed, tears pouring down her face.

Her breathing was more uneven then before, and her nails were threatening to curl inwards yet again.

“Hey, hey. You’ve got this.” Veronica grabbed some paper towels, pressed them to Betty’s hands and led her to the ground.

_She’s gonna hate me if she finds out how deeply screwed up I am! I’m just going to mess it up for myself, just like I do every good thing that comes into my life._

Betty’s chest felt like it was on fire, and there were metal chains binding them from water.

She allowed herself to be comforted by Veronica, burying her head into the girls’ chest.

“I ha-hate h-her. I hate Ch-cheryl. She’s a m-m-onster that only destroys th-things.” Betty managed to croak out, all her anger and hate for Cheryl bubbling to the surface.

The way she bullied Betty ever since kindergarten and never got any consequences because she was practically Riverdale royalty.

How she got all the glory and pity over her brother dying, even though Polly had practically died too.

_Oh, god. Polly._

At that she sobbed even harder, her chest threatening to explode.

God, she missed her.

Polly was the only one in that awful, toxic house to ever see Betty as a human being, not an object to perfect.

Polly saw when Betty was in pain and helped her to the best of her degree. She never bullied her over her panic attacks or the fact that the cried when she ate most of the time, even though she had every opportunity to.

Whenever Cheryl picked on Betty and Polly was around, she would stick up for Betty. Not even once did she hesitate in helping her.

And this is what she gets?

Disgusting, shameful rumors spread about her and how she drove Jason to drown himself. Or, worse, that Polly had drowned him herself.

Betty couldn’t quite figure out why anyone would think that. Polly and Jason loved each other to the moon and back, publicly. They did PDA’s whenever they could squeeze it in.

So how could one fateful day in the river change all of that?

“I wish it was me! Not Polly, me.” Betty cried onto Veronica’s shoulder. She nuzzled into it more and more, the touch reminding her of her older sister.

Veronica couldn’t help but shed a few tears herself. The wails and sobs coming from Betty were just too much for her to handle. Nobody, let alone a 15-year-old girl should ever feel this pathetic.

So she just kept rubbing her back, murmuring kind words and affirmations in to Betty’s ears.

Betty couldn’t remember the last time she felt so cared for. Yet so vulnerable.

She felt like she could lay there for hours and forget about the world. The last person who made her feel like that was Polly.

But she couldn’t think about her now. She’d spiral out of control.

The two girls laid there for a few more minutes, Betty’s breathing slowly returning to normal.

Before Betty could lift her head up, Veronica asked,” Does this have anything to do with you fainting earlier?”

Betty looked up at her, defeat in her eyes.

“Yeah. I guess.”

To Betty’s surprise, Veronica just nodded.

“Ok.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Betty bit her lip, not sure where saying yes would lead her. But she also didn’t want to say no, for fear of hate from Veronica for not wanting to share her feelings after she just helped her through a panic attack.

Little did Betty know; Veronica was not that type of girl. She would help Betty through a panic attack even if they hated each other.

“Sure.”

“But I just want to know, why did you help me?” Betty sniffled, lifting her head up all the way and blinking the residual tears from her eyes.

“Now, and with Cheryl. Why me? I know the crowd you ran with in New York. Why are you being so, nice?”

Veronica dropped her gaze for a moment as she helped Betty up, taking the bloodied paper from her hands and throwing it in the trash.

Before anything, she was relieved that the bleeding had stopped.

She was hesitant, but she knew that she had to tell Betty something to gain her trust, if she would want Betty to spill all her secrets.

“When my father got arrested, it was the worst thing ever. All these trolls started writing horrible things about us.”

Veronica unlocked the bathroom door and held it open for Betty, motioning with her hand to follow her out the door.

Betty understood that this was clearly a walk and talk conversation, as she quickly obeyed orders.

They walked into the main locker room, which, thankfully, was empty.

“We’d get letters, and e-mails saying that my dad was a thief, my mom was a useless socialite, and that I was this spoiled, rich bitch, ice princess.”

Betty nodded in understanding, as she had also been bullied by the public before.

They searched for the supposed area with the cheer uniforms, which they found very quickly, by the doors to the football field.

Veronica rifled through it, finding a small for herself and an extra small for Betty. Granted, those were the only sizes available.

“And,” Veronica started again, as she stripped her top off,” What hurt most about it was that the things the trolls were writing, were true.”

She stopped for a moment and looked over at Betty who also had stripped her shirt. She was exhausted from the panic attack she just had, but she had learned over the years to suppress that feeling and just go on with her day.

Veronica tried not to look at Betty’s stomach, which had every one of her ribs clearly showing.

“I was like Cheryl. I was worse than Cheryl.” She let those words sink in, wincing at the memory of how pained Betty’s voice was when she talked about Cheryl.

She wondered vaguely if she had ever caused that much pain. She prayed that she hadn’t.

“So, when my mom said we were moving to Riverdale, I made a pact with myself. To use this as an opportunity to become maybe, hopefully, a better version of myself.”

Betty nodded again, this time with fake understanding. Her whole life had been so structured around what everybody else thought that it never even crossed her mind to be mean to people, let alone as mean as Cheryl.

By the time Veronica had finished, both girls had their cheer uniforms on.

“There. Very Betty Draper season one.” She said, walking over to Betty and smoothing over the wrinkled parts of the uniform. It still looked a bit big on Betty, which was more than a little concerning considering it was an extra small.

Sighing, Betty said,” That’s a lot of pressure.”

She picked up her bloody shorts and gym shirt and tossed them in a nearby trash can, taking a second to glance at the fresh wounds on her hands.

They were aggravated, yes, but there was no sign of fresh blood on them.

Betty bent over to cover the bloodied garmets with other pieces of trash, not wanting the after-school janitor to see them.

She knew that she would have to confess the truth about Polly next, seeing as Veronica had just trusted her with a pretty personal piece of information.

She didn’t want to re-hash all of her feelings, actually, that was probably the last thing that she wanted to do right now. Betty never did well talking about her feelings. The only experience she had with it was once in a blue moon to her mom, usually in a social setting where it was expected she lie, or in one of her many diaries, of which her mom looked through.

So, she didn’t have any real experience talking about them where she wasn’t lying or only telling half the truth.

Glancing up at the clock, Betty saw that it was already 3:30.

 _My freak-out must’ve lasted longer than I thought it did,_ Betty thought.

Considering her mom would kill her if she wasn’t home by 4:00, Betty needed to speed up this process.

“Walk and talk?” She asked Veronica, gently motioning over to the door that lead to the football field.

Nodding, Veronica slipped in front of Betty, holding the door open for her and giving her a goofy smile.

“Ladies first,” she giggled.

Betty giggled back, surprised at how sincere it was.

They walked along the track for a bit before Betty made her move.

“When Polly and Jason got together, it meant everything to her and nothing to him. And things got super intense and weird and toxic and my mom turned on Polly.”

She shook her head violently, looking over at Veronica with disgust in her eyes.

“Said Polly wasn’t her daughter anymore. Said all these awful things to her.”

She sighed, seemingly unaware on how to word her next sentence.

“Jason hurt Polly. But it’s my mom who broke her.

Veronica truly did not know what to say to that. It made sense, that she knew, considering there were two sides to every story.

But in this story, both sides were incredibly grim.

Veronica looked ahead, seeing a ruffled redhead running their way.

If Kevin was right (and Veronica was 99 percent sure he wasn’t) and Betty did have a crush on Archie, she would have to make a move now.

Veronica was also 99 percent sure that this was the wrong decision, that it would only stress out Betty more, but she went along with her plan anyway.

“Archie!” Veronica called, shaking Betty’s shoulder to get her attention.

“You’re so doing this.”

“What?” Betty asked innocently, being pulled out of her thoughts by Veronica’s call.

“Slaying your dragons, Betty Cooper, one by one.” She said with confidence, hoping that some of it would rub off on the blonde girl.

“Hi, Teen Outlander.” She fake-flirted, catching his attention.

“Hey, nice outfits.” Archie said, not at all surprised by Betty’s sudden involvement in the River Vixens. I mean, she is the girl next door, right?

“Betty here has something she wants to ask you about the back to school dance. Go on, Betty, ask.” Veronica prompted, whilst being given the death glare by the other girl.

“I was wondering if you wanted to come,” she hesitated, glancing back and forth between Archie and Veronica,” with both of us.”

She finished, surprising both Archie and Veronica.

“Huh?”

“What?”

They both said, Veronica being especially surprised. She didn’t know exactly why but the thought of going to a dance with Betty Cooper made her heart soar.

Not that she was able to show it, of course.

“It’s her first dance at Riverdale,” Betty said, seemingly trying to convince both of them to accept her offer.

“You should have someone to go with, even if it’s just a friend.”

As soon as Betty said friend, Veronica’s heart dropped.

 _Have I just been friendzoned?_ She wondered, trying to convince herself otherwise.

 _I was the one who forced her into this, I can’t get mad at the results._ She decided, cursing herself internally.

She quickly thanked her full proof poker face, as she continued in the conversation.

“I mean, I’d love to.” She replied happily, pasting a smile on her face. It wasn’t all bad, she remembered, because she’d still be going to the dance with Betty, regardless of how.

“No, I’m not really in the headspace for a dance,” Archie said, hesitantly letting Betty down. He knew that Ms. Grundy was going to be there and he didn’t want any more drama with her today, even if it meant letting his best friend down.

“Oh, that’s okay,” Betty said, keeping a smile on her face, but still half letting on to her disappointment, whilst her heart tumbled down in her chest. She was disappointed, really, but not as disappointed as she thought she should be.

This would just mean that her and Veronica could go to the dance together, and Kevin would be off her ass for the night on making a move with Archie.

Veronica, on the other hand, was practically raging inside.

 _How in the hell could this dumb boy turn down an offer to go out with Betty?_ She wondered, vaguely remembering all of the boys she fake-dated back at Spence.

Part of her becoming a better person was also living her true self, which meant being a flaring lesbian.

“Totally unacceptable, Archiekins. We need an escort.” Veronica said, stating it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Take a break from being a tortured musical genius, and come spend a blissful evening with not one, but two newly-minted River Vixens.”

“We’ll text you time and place.” Veronica finished, and it was clear that she was not taking no for an answer.

“Heh. Okay.” Archie agreed, not being able to resist the Veronica charm.


End file.
